Speech by the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman
Patricia de Lille, at the Cape Town and Western Cape
Tourism Destination Conference
MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Alan Winde,
MEC for Cultural Affairs and Sport, Dr. Ivan Meyer,
Honoured guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning, goeiemore, molweni.
The tourism market is one that we should never take for granted.
After the worst of the recession a couple of years ago, Cape Town learnt
the hard way that even the most established markets are vulnerable.
We found out that, in as much as we have natural beauty and a breathtaking landscape, and as much as we are known the world over as a
leisure destination of choice that we can still feel downturns.
But as with all bad news, it forced us to look beyond our received
wisdoms to what makes us a great city.
It forced us to strategise, to look for innovative solutions and to truly
become the dynamic city that we always boast being.
It forced us to stake our claim and demonstrate who we are and who we
want to be.
We know of our beauty.
We know of our scenery.
So do does the world.
But in this day and age, these assets, powerful as they are, cannot
sustain us.
There are other places of beauty out there, other destinations of wonder.
And they are preparing their plans to attract that market of visitors that is
willing to invest in paying a little bit more for visiting long-haul
destinations.
So we have to look to what sets us apart.
We have to look at what makes us different.
We have to look at what makes us, us.
In partnership with Cape Town Tourism, we have developed a layered
offering to consumers about a lifestyle for people here in Cape Town.
A lifestyle for those who seek leisure; a lifestyle for those who seek
business; and a lifestyle for those who seek study.
But to truly market ourselves, we have reached into the core of our city’s
being.
And that core is our heritage and our culture.
We are our rich heritage and rich history made real every day in our
interactions.
And the future we are trying to craft as a leading city of Africa and the
developing world is tied to where we have come from.
Our future starts from our past.
And as is fitting for our great society, the building blocks from which we
make our city tomorrow are strong and varied.
We are a place with the history of the culture of the San and the Khoi,
cultures older than most languages and whose vestiges dot our
landscape.
We are the site of a particular Muslim identity, represented by the
Kramats which grace our hills.
We are a city that knew the terrible history of slavery and overcame it.
We are a centre of colonial African history surpassing most other centres
in the former imperial world.
And like the rest of the country, we are the meeting point of the tragedies
of apartheid and our liberation into democracy, from Robben Island, to
the Langa Pass Office, to the site of the Trojan Horse Massacre.
All these and so many other stories are a part of us and will remain so.
They help us realise our future potential.
It is this potential that we wish to share with the world.
And it is this potential that we hope will form a unique cornerstone of our
tourism strategy.
Indeed, this history and the future we will build shall be a new
competitive advantage.
I hope that all of your deliberations discussing the application of our
heritage to our future strategy as a competitive destination are fruitful
indeed.
And moreover, that we share our heritage with those who want to build
the future together with us.